Early Days
by werewolflemming
Summary: While they are still young, Elladan and Elrohir get into more than the average amount of trouble. Nightmares, snowball fights, mishaps in the library and a dangerous trip to the river.
1. Snow, trolls and nightmares

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places featured in this story

Author's notes: Please read and review. Constructive criticism is gladly accepted, please tell me about mistakes so that I can correct them and know not to make the same mistake again.

A new day dawned on the beautiful and peaceful elven realm of Imladris. At least, it used to be peaceful, but that was before the twins. It was the middle of winter, so the sun shone on clean white snow, which covered the house and gardens in a thick layer.

Elrond sat in his study, enjoying the quiet that would only exist until his sons woke up. He leant back in his chair and stretched out his legs, sipping a cup of warm tea. "Ahh," he sighed, "peace and qu…" but was then cut off in mid sentence by a dreadful noise, loud enough to wake the dead.

"Elladan!" Elrohir bellowed, racing down the corridor after his brother, long dark hair flying about his face. "Give me back my toy!"

Skidding round a corner, Elladan yelled back "You'll have to catch me first!" Unfortunately, he neglected to pay attention to where he was going, and collided with Erestor, one of Elrond's chief advisors.

It was a very disgruntled Erestor who minutes later deposited the twins in Elrond's study (where, by all rights, he believed they should be locked up) "Lord Elrond," he frowned "your son just ran into me in the corridor. I believe it would be wise for you to explain the dangers of running in the house." With that, Erestor turned on his heel and walked out, ready to take his bad temper out on anyone and everyone who crossed his path.

"Elladan," Elrond sighed, causing one twin to look at the floor guiltily, a slight flush of red beginning to appear at the tips of his ears. "Elrohir," now it was the other elfling's turn to drop his gaze. "I would have thought you'd have known better by now than to be running around the corridors." He looked down at them both stonily. "I don't expect either of you to do that again, do you understand?" They nodded mutely, and Elrond let his glare soften slightly. "Well, off you go then, and do try to play _quietly_ please,"

A sombre pair of elflings walked out of the study, rather upset that their father was so displeased with them. "Here," Elladan held out the toy that was still in his hand, "I'm sorry I took it from you, it was my fault we got in trouble," he hung his head, not willing to look at his brother, who he was sure would be mad at him.

"No, of course it wasn't" Elrohir replied, "I never really wanted the toy back that much. I shouldn't have chased you. Besides, it wasn't really that bad was it? Did you see the look on Erestor's face when you ran into him? He looked like he was going to explode! It was so funny-he went all red and everything!"

Elladan risked a grin, and soon both twins were laughing almost as loud as they had been shouting earlier. So it was in a much lighter mood that they wandered into the garden. "Ooh…" Elrohir breathed as he saw the snow that covered everything "It's so beautiful," and Elladan had to agree. The first snow of the season always had a magical feel to it, and when it was fresh it made the world seem untouched. The twins loved to be outside before anyone else so they could make the first footprints in the crisp whiteness. Of course, the awed feeling was quickly replaced by pure excited energy, and any footprint making activities rapidly degenerated into snowball fights.

Erestor was having a bad day. When he woke up in the morning it had shown every promise of being a good day, but things had rapidly gone downhill as soon as he got out of bed. First, he had remembered the big pile of paperwork on his desk. Then he had stubbed his toe on a chair. To add insult to injury, Glorfindel had witnessed this unusually clumsy incident, and Erestor was sure he could see the glint of amusement in the golden-haired warrior's eyes. Next, Elladan had nearly knocked him over in the corridor. He had tried to ignore it, but like all bad days, it refused to be ignored. He had tried to be optimistic and cheerful, but looking back he rather felt he had been setting himself up for a fall (almost literally true because of Elladan)

"Oh well," he sighed "things can't possibly get much worse," and he stepped outside.

"Erestor!" Elrohir pointed at the elf as he walked into the garden, and within moments the advisor was hit by several large snowballs. Erestor stood still, then counted to ten. Once he had done that, he gave up trying to calm down, and instead focussed his mind on a potentially stress relieving activity. "Elflings!" He roared, and bent to pick up a handful of snow. The twins squealed and ran off, pursued closely by a very annoyed elf (who, by his own admission, should know better) tossing snowballs.

The chase snaked through the gardens, between trees, round the pond, and ended up in front of the house. Finally getting a proper aim, Erestor chucked his snowball at Elladan, who ducked, and hit Lord Elrond square in the middle of his chest. Erestor squeaked in terror and stood still, trembling in fear and embarrassment. He opened his mouth to speak as Elrond walked forwards, but no words escaped.

The Lord of Imladris saw no reason to talk either. He casually ran his hand over the wall, scooping up powder snow, then smushed it into Erestor's hair.

There was silence, finally broken by Elrond's snort of laughter as he and his sons ran off. Erestor stood for a moment, stunned, before he could move. "Elrond!" He yelled, picking up more snow, "Come back here!"

The snowball fight continued until lunchtime, when the elves reluctantly took a short break to replenish their energy, upon the insistence of Elrond's wife Celebrían. Once she had deemed that they had eaten and rested enough, the snowballing began again in earnest.

"Got you!" Erestor laughed, having finally succeeded in hitting the Lord of Imladris in the back. His laughter though, was cut short by Elladan and Elrohir, who snuck up on him and shook the snow off a tree branch right onto his head. "Aaggh!" He cried, as the melting snow trickled down the back of his neck.

In the three hours that followed, all elves took heavy losses (pride and dignity to name just two), the most significant of which being Elladan's gloves. No one quite knew how they had managed to end up in the pond, and none of them were prepared to stick their hands in the icy water to retrieve them.

"I think it's about time we went in," Elrond announced, looking at the twins, who were shivering slightly, and whose clothes were damp, if not completely soaked through. He ignored the protests that followed his statement and shook his head. "There's always tomorrow," he said "and we could do with a warm bath and some dry clothes." The twins agreed, but the disappointment was evident on their faces so Elrond continued. "And if you come in now," he smiled "then after your baths I'll make you some hot chocolate."

"Okay!" the twins chorused, and Erestor stepped forward grinning.

"Can I have some hot chocolate too?" He asked, and Elrond laughed.

"Only if you behave," he warned jokingly.

Celebrían found the four later, sitting enjoying the warmth of the fire and sipping at mugs of hot chocolate. She smiled serenely and sat down next to her husband, who kissed her, much to the disgust of their sons. "The evening meal will be ready soon," she said.

After they had all eaten, it was approaching the twins' bedtime. "Time for bed elflings," Celebrían told them, and was met by murmurs of discontent. "But I'm not tired," Elladan protested, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. However, protests about bedtime meant little to Celebrían and they knew it, so they reluctantly allowed themselves to be ushered to their room.

A short time later, both twins were in bed, but adamantly refusing to go to sleep until they had been read a story. At the same time, Glorfindel was on his way to the kitchens for a snack. He never made it that far.

"Glorfindel!" Elrohir cried, because he'd seen the blond haired elf pass the doorway. A little reluctantly, Glorfindel backed up and walked into the room.

"Tell us a story," Elladan pleaded, "Please…" he put on his best pleading face and stared up at him. Inwardly, Glorfindel groaned. "Not the puppy dog eyes," he thought, "anything but that…" Needless to say, he gave in, and the two elflings sat in awed silence as he told them the story of Galadh, a young elf who went hunting for trolls.

"Glorfindel?" Elrohir asked, "What's a troll?"

"Ah," Glorfindel replied, "it is a humongous creature with a hide as strong as stone and arms powerful enough to snap bones like twigs." He leant forward as they shrank back "and if it catches elflings by surprise, it takes them to its lair and eats them for its supper!"

Elladan and Elrohir gasped and looked at each other, identical expressions of shock on their faces. Of course, the story ended happily, with Galadh defeating the trolls and saving his village. "But still," Elladan thought, "I hope I don't ever meet a troll."

"Come elflings," Elrond smiled "it is time for you to go to sleep," he and Celebrían said goodnight and returned to their room, while Glorfindel finally got to head for the kitchen.

"G'night El," Elladan yawned, but his brother was already fast asleep. He turned onto his side and pulled the covers around himself to get comfortable. Within minutes he was sleeping as soundly as Elrohir.

Unfortunately, this didn't last. Soon, Elladan was tossing and turning, plagued by terrifying nightmares. "No…" he moaned, clawing at the air, eyes open but unseeing (yeah, I know elves sleep with their eyes open anyway) "not the troll…go 'way…"

With a gasp, he woke up and bolted upright, breathing heavily. He leant back against the headboard trying to calm down, and had almost succeeded when he heard something. A crash, followed by loud thuds, which seemed to be coming from inside the house. Immediately, his heart began to pound, as his mind replayed scenes from his nightmare, showing him visions of terrible creatures that might have made the noise.

It did occur to him that there could be a rational explanation, but the logical part of his brain couldn't compete with his overactive imagination, and scary visions won. Not really happy with the idea of sitting on his own waiting for the monster to get him, he decided to try and enlist help.

"Elrohir," Elladan whispered, wide-eyed in the darkness "are you awake?" The younger twin turned over in his sleep and muttered something unintelligible, leaving Elladan to realise he would have to face the…_thing_…on his own. "It's probably better this way," he thought finally. After all, he didn't want to put his brother in danger as well. No, he could handle it, whatever it was.

Taking a deep breath and getting out of bed, he brushed his long raven hair behind his ears. He was brave, he was ready, but if he really had to admit it, he was also terrified. His heart was thumping so loudly surely everyone in Imladris could hear. He was contemplating the possibility of going to find his father when he heard the noise again. It sounded to Elladan just like the thud of a troll's feet, and it was getting closer!

Elladan froze in fear, hovering in the doorway, one hand gripping the door handle so tightly his knuckles had gone white. All the time, the sound was getting louder, and louder…until a dim shadow could be seen just a few feet away. Fear struck hard at his heart, and a dozen nonsensical thoughts dashed through his mind, culminating in a single determined decision. "I cannot let it hurt Elrohir." His mind made up, he picked up the nearest object to hand and with a bloodcurdling war cry a dwarf would have been proud of, threw himself at the thing.

There was a moment of confusion, which began with Elladan leaping without concern for his own well-being, onto the shadowy figure's back, and ended with him sitting on top of whatever it was, hitting it repeatedly with the object he'd picked up.

A few doors down, Elrond and Celebrían both woke with a start when the heard the scream. "The twins!" They exclaimed together, and grabbed a candle as they ran out of the room, fearing the worst.

What they saw outside their sons' room did nothing to ease their worries. A figure was spread-eagled on the floor, while a smaller figure sat on its back, pounding it with a large object. Warily, they edged closer, and as the light from the candle illuminated the scene, their fears began to evaporate.

Glorfindel was the figure lying on the floor, and Elladan was sat on top of him, hitting him with a stuffed bunny rabbit. Elrond felt his right eyebrow arch skywards of its own accord, and was aware of his wife whispering in his ear. "Darling," she murmured, "You must learn to control your eyebrow,"

Now that Elladan could see properly, he paused, and the bunny fell from his hand, landing on Glorfindel's head. The elf made a muffled noise, and Elladan, realising just then where he was sitting, leapt up and began a hurried apology.

Elrond, who had given up trying to tame his wild eyebrow, grinned, and offered his friend a hand. After Glorfindel assured them there was no harm done, Celebrían was able to concentrate her full attention on her son, who was standing perfectly still, looking slightly shocked. "What happened Elladan? Why did you attack Glorfindel? Surely you didn't think he would harm you," she said gently.

"You know that your mother and I will let no harm come to you while you're here," Elrond added, and Celebrían crouched down, so she was at Elladan's level.

"I-I…" he began shakily "I heard scary noises, and I tried to tell Elrohir but he was asleep. I thought it was a troll, and it was getting closer, and I was afraid and then I saw a huge shadow outside the door, and, and…" he stuttered, and Celebrían saw that his eyes were beginning to fill with tears. She put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly; "Go on,"

"And" he continued "and I thought it as going to hurt Elrohir, so I jumped on it," he looked at the floor "I'm sorry," he sobbed, emotions finally getting the better of him.

"Oh Elladan," Celebrían sighed, hugging him tightly "you don't have to be sorry, I'm proud of you for trying to protect your brother,"

"You're not ad at me for hurting Glorfindel?" Elladan sniffed, and she smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Of course not," she assured "It wasn't your fault, though perhaps you should apologise to him for thinking he was a troll."

"I'm sorry Glorfindel," Elladan said over Celebrían's shoulder, while wiping his eyes.

"That's OK," the golden-haired warrior replied with a smile, before turning to face Elrond. "I can hear it now," he groaned "Glorfindel the balrog-slayer, great warrior, brought down by a mere elfling. I doubt I shall ever hear the end of it!"

Elrond merely grinned, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Perhaps that will teach you not to tell my children scary stories before they go to sleep," he commented, eyebrow finally having returned from its vacation halfway up his forehead. "Now," he announced, "I think it's about time we all went back to bed, don't you?"

And so it was that yet another day (and night) in Imladris failed to pass without incident.

Author's notes: Please review. Oh, and to anyone who wants to know, yes, I did name the character in Glorfindel's story "Tree".


	2. A little learning can be a dangerous thi...

Chapter 2-A little learning can be a dangerous thing

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places featured in this story.

Author's notes: OK, this is the second chapter of what may be a series (up to you, please review) Please review and help me to improve my writing. Constructive criticism welcome, so please tell me where I've made mistakes.

The next morning began slowly. The sun rose to shine on half melted snow, and birds half-heartedly sang to greet the dawn. Elrohir blinked his eyes into focus and sat up, stretching his arms out and yawning to shake off sleep. He got out of bed, dressed, then went to wake his brother.

"Elladan," he said, prodding the mound of blankets on the bed, "wake up." Elladan, however, didn't respond, and it was obvious to Elrohir that he wasn't about to get up anytime soon.

Deciding that he was going to have to wait a while before he could go outside with his brother and play in the snow, he wandered off in search of a way to entertain himself.

Ambling aimlessly down the corridor, Elrohir wondered what to do. Nothing came to mind and boredom was fast approaching when he came to a door. That was when an idea hit him. He'd enjoyed listening to Glorfindel's story the previous night and perhaps he could read some more about trolls in the library.

Erestor was also in the library that morning, as he thought that it would be a good place to find peace and quiet. He was somewhat disheartened therefore, when Elrohir walked in. Happy as he was to help the young elfling if he wanted something in the library, he had rather hoped he was going to be able to spend a few hours alone.

"Erestor," Elrohir said, "Can you help me find a book?"

"What book were you wanting?" Erestor asked, and Elrohir thought for a moment. He wasn't sure what kind of book he wanted, it would be interesting to find a book that had information in about trolls, but then again, stories about adventure and battles were slightly more appealing.

"A book with trolls in," he decided out loud, "and with adventures and exciting battles."

"Well," Erestor stood and walked over to a bookshelf, then took down a book from one of the higher shelves. "I think this one fits your description, why don't you sit at the table and read. I'm going to go and find Glorfindel, because he has some paperwork that's overdue." He handed the book to Elrohir and walked off, in search of Glorfindel, hoping afterwards to find somewhere he could be alone.

"Thank you Erestor," Elrohir said, and sat down at the table, blowing dust off the cover of the book and opening it.

From the very first page, he knew it was a book he could really enjoy. The writing transported him to another world, and he could almost believe he was there, and that it was him having such amazing adventures.

Before he realised, he had spent two whole hours reading, and he was turning the final page. He was disappointed that the story was over, and resolved to come back to the library again soon to find another book. However, now he felt that it was time to do something more energetic. Surely Elladan must be awake by now.

Unfortunately, now he had the problem of how to return the book. It was too high up for him to reach, and there was no one else in the library. Looking around him for inspiration, his eyes landed on a chair.

Quickly measuring the distance in his head, he decided that the chair was about the right height. Moving it so it was next to the bookcase, he climbed up with the book held under his arm. He grabbed hold of a shelf with one hand and pulled himself up so he was balanced on the back of the chair.

He reached up but couldn't quite reach the shelf where the book had come from.

Just a little higher…

He stood on his tiptoes and pushed the book onto the shelf with his index finger. "Almost…" he stuck his tongue out in concentration and leant a bit further forwards. Finally the book slid into its place and Elrohir sighed in relief then relaxed.

Unfortunately, this caused him to lose his balance, and he was suddenly acutely aware that he was tiptoeing precariously on the back of a chair. This was how, in a very short period of time, Elrohir learnt several things.

The first of which was that the back of a chair is not a very safe place to stand. The second was that when losing your balance on the back of a chair, windmilling your arms doesn't tend to help. The third and final thing Elrohir learnt was that falling off the chair and dragging half the contents of the bookshelf with you hurts. It hurts a lot.

Elrond was wandering the halls when he heard the crash. He gasped and dashed towards the source of the noise.

"Ada!"

The wail sent cold shivers down his spine and set his heart pounding in his chest. It was one of the twins.

The sight that met Elrond when he stepped into the library was chaotic. Books were scattered all over the floor and one of the bookcases had toppled over and leant against a wall. He could hear crying, so he stepped closer to try and determine where it was coming from. Eventually he spotted a hand sticking out of the mound of books and set about rescuing the young elfling it was attached to.

"Ada…" Within a minute, the small figure of Elrohir was visible, curled up on the floor, clutching one arm tight to his chest.

"It's alright Elrohir," Elrond said, "I'm here," he knelt down next to his son, who was sobbing continuously, tears streaming down his pale face.

"It hurts…" Elrohir wailed, looking up at his father.

"Where does it hurt Elrohir?" Elrond questioned, anxious to know whether it was safe to move the young elf, because he was worried the bookcase might fall.

"My arm," Elrohir replied shakily "just my arm,"

"Alright then," Elrond said, "I'll take you to the healing ward and have a look at your arm." He scooped his son into his arms and carried him out of the library.

Over on the other side of the house, Celebrían and Elladan had also heard the crash, and wanted to know what had happened. Both had a horrible feeling that whatever had happened had something to do with Elrohir.

They set off in the direction of the noise, intent on getting some information. No one they met seemed to have any more of idea than they did however, and the closest they got to actually finding anything was when they got to the library.

What they found there wasn't exactly comforting. The entire library was a total mess, with books everywhere, and a bookcase lying on a table. "What happened?" Celebrían asked out loud, and Elladan merely stared in amazement at the mess that even rivalled his room.

Having a bad feeling about the situation, they decided to head to the healing wards. When they got there though, they were faced with Glorfindel, who was standing outside the door. "I'm sorry," he apologised, "But you can't go in there at the moment, I don't think Lord Elrond needs to be disturbed. He has told me to assure you that Elrohir was not badly injured but that he needs some quiet for a while."

Celebrían frowned, and glared at Glorfindel. There was no way that Glorfindel was going to stop her from seeing Elrohir, no matter how minor his injury was.

"Hmm…" Elrond inspected Elrohir's arm carefully, while his son sat on the edge of one of the beds. The elfling had already told him what had happened on the way to the healing wards.

"Is it broken ada?" Elrohir enquired nervously, biting back tears when Elrond accidentally knocked his arm slightly.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Elrond replied, "but it should heal quickly. However, I would advise that in future you ask someone for help if you can't reach a shelf."

Elrohir nodded and sat still while his arm was set, feeling a little foolish about what had happened. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't think I would fall off,"

Elrond smiled and ruffled the elfling's hair. "Just be careful," he said, hoping that the words would sink in. Before he could say more, there was a knock at the door, and Celebrían walked in with Elladan in tow. "It appears you have visitors," he remarked.

"El!" Elladan bounded up to his twin, "I was worried-me and naneth had to ask so many people to find out what happened because Glorfindel wouldn't let us in here."

Celebrían smiled inwardly, she doubted Glorfindel would ever try to prevent her from seeing her son again.

"So what really happened?" Elladan asked.

"I went to the library," Elrohir began, but Elladan interrupted him.

"No, no," he said, "just tell me the exciting part-what did you do to your arm?"

"He fell off a chair, and pulled a bookcase down with him." Elrond stepped in, because he noticed how tired Elrohir looked. "I think that we should let Elrohir get some rest for a while," he suggested, but Elladan didn't take the hint.

"Is it broken?" The older twin asked, and Elrohir nodded. "Can I touch it?" He reached over and Elrohir shuffled backwards, pulling his arm away from his twin.

"No!" He exclaimed, "It'll hurt!"

"Elladan," Elrond placed a hand on his son's shoulder "your brother will no doubt tell you everything later, but for now, I think he'd better rest."

"How are you feeling dear?" Celebrían asked, hugging Elrohir.

"I'm alright," he replied "it still hurts a bit though,"

"Well you get some rest then," she said, "lunch will be in an hour,"

Elrohir walked off in the direction of his room, followed by Elrond, who was intent on making sure he didn't injure himself further, because he seemed a little unsteady on his feet.

Some hours later, Elrond and Celebrían were sitting outside, discussing the twins. "Rarely a day passes" Elrond said "when one of them doesn't cause some havoc, or injure themselves in some way. I may be immortal, but I'm sure I'm getting grey hairs."

"Ah, the joys of children," sighed Celebrían.

Elvish translations (I think)

Ada-Daddy

Naneth-Mother

Author's notes: Please review, I know this chapter wasn't really very good, so I would appreciate any suggestions on how to improve it. I also apologise for the bad quality writing. I'm sorry please forgive me; I did try though. The next chapter, if anyone wants to read it, is called Swimming Lessons.


	3. Swimming Lessons

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places featured in this story

Author's notes: Please read and review, oh, and this chapter is set a little later, so Elrohir's arm is all better now.

Responses to reviews:

Haldir's heart and soul: Thank you for reviewing. You hurt your ankle? Ouch, have some sympathy free of charge. Well, if you wanted another chapter, here it is.

A.Nuevil: Thanks for the reviews. By the way, could anyone tell me what on earth is meant by ROFLOL? That's two reviews so far that have had that in, and I don't know what it means…

Slina: Thank you for your review, and if anyone wants, there will be more to come, the ideas are all in my head-they just have to be written down (the hardest part you have to agree)

It was the first day of spring, and Imladris was a hive of activity. Preparations were being made for the annual feast the next day. Decorations were being hung, presents made and found for family, friends and loved ones. In the kitchen, elves busily prepared food and in the armoury, Glorfindel was using the chaos to avoid Erestor, who was after the paperwork that the warrior still hadn't finished.

Elrond and Celebrían were putting the finishing touches to the twins' presents, which they had been trying to keep secret for weeks. No easy task with children as inquisitive as Elladan and Elrohir.

Elladan and Elrohir were also busy. They were attempting to help decorate, but were only really succeeding in getting under everyone's feet. "Where shall I put this?" Elladan pulled on the sleeve of Laurëé, who was hanging paper lanterns. She didn't answer, as she was trying to concentrate on putting one lantern up without dropping all the others she was carrying.

"Where are you Glorfindel?" Erestor muttered to himself as he marched up the corridor. "That paperwork needed to be done two weeks ago." He spotted a flash of golden hair at the end of the corridor and broke into a jog.

Elladan began to get impatient, and decided that his lantern, which had a picture of crocus flowers on, would look best hanging from the ceiling. Unfortunately, he couldn't reach, so he climbed onto the banister of the stairs, despite protests from Elrohir about safety.

Glorfindel, thankfully, spotted Elladan before he could injure himself. He reached forward and picked the elfling up, then placed him safely back on the ground. "That wasn't very safe Elladan," he scolded, "don't do that." He was about to leave when he saw Erestor striding towards him, a dangerous look on his face. A spark of inspiration fired in his brain and he turned to the twins. "Let's go and find your parents shall we?" He asked, steering them towards the door. "To see if they have something you can do?" He walked away, and Laurëé smiled at him in thanks.

Erestor watched Glorfindel turn to leave and sped up again, but just as the warrior was leaving, another elf walked past and blocked his view. When they had moved past, Glorfindel and the twins had vanished. It was at this point that Erestor said something highly inappropriate and earned himself several shocked glances from other elves. He went off to sulk in the library.

Celebrían and Elrond finally finished the presents and hid them in the cupboard, underneath a pile of blankets (they'd need to move them later-or the twins would _definitely_ find them). Barely seconds after they had closed the cupboard door, Glorfindel walked in with the twins. Celebrían squeaked in shock, and Elrond's eyebrows set off towards his hairline.

"Are you alright my lady? My lord?" Glorfindel asked, slightly concerned. The twins however, immediately guessed the reason for their parents' reaction.

"You were finishing our presents weren't you?" They exclaimed excitedly, and rushed forward, trying to look for clues. "Where did you put them?"

"You can find out what your presents are tomorrow." Celebrían stated firmly, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Today I was thinking of taking a picnic to the river, perhaps you would like to accompany me?"

"Ooh!" They chorused, successfully distracted, and followed Celebrían out of the room.

"I'll meet you in the gardens in a minute," Elrond called after her, and once the twins were out of earshot he turned to Glorfindel. "The presents are in the cupboard," he said, "can you take them and hide them somewhere the twins won't guess? I really don't want them to find their presents this year, please?"

Glorfindel nodded, but looked a little disappointed, and Elrond realised something. "You're still avoiding Erestor aren't you?" He asked, to which Glorfindel nodded. "Well," Elrond continued, "normally I wouldn't condone your lack of responsibility about paperwork, but since it's a holiday, if you like then you can join us by the river." Glorfindel gladly accepted and went off at once to hide the presents.

"Are we ready?" Elrond asked as he walked up to where Celebrían was waiting with the twins, carrying a basket filled with food and drinks.

"Yes!" The twins cried impatiently, resisting the urge to jump up and down, because that would certainly annoy their parents, perhaps enough to cancel the trip.

"Well, before we go," Elrond said, "I want to set a few guidelines."

"Aww…" Elladan sighed, as guidelines often meant that he'd be told that under no circumstances should he do exactly what he had been thinking of doing at the time. It was amazing really, how accurately Elrond or Celebrían could read his mind.

"Now now," Elrond frowned, "I'm not trying to spoil your fun, I'm trying to keep you safe. You wouldn't want to miss the celebrations tomorrow because of a silly accident, would you?"

Both Elladan and Elrohir shook their heads, Elrohir rather more vigorously, because he knew exactly how much accidents could hurt, whereas Elladan didn't.

"Right," Elrond waited for quiet then began, "Both of you need to stay where either your mother or I can see you at _all_ times. The water will still be very cold at this time of year, and dangerously fast flowing, so you won't be able to go swimming." At this point, he stopped, while Elladan and Elrohir voiced their complaints. "I won't change my mind on this." He stated, in the kind of voice you didn't argue with, "Finally, when we get there please stay away from the edge, I don't want to be fishing you out when you fall in."

Safety guidelines finished, Elrond decided that it was time to be off. They had reached the edge of the garden when Glorfindel caught up to them, shooting furtive glances back at the house, just in case Erestor had spotted him.

Back inside, a pile of paperwork was towering on Glorfindel's desk. He had been given the paperwork to do at the beginning of winter, and apparently, the problem didn't go away if it was left alone. Halfway through winter, Glorfindel had resolved to get some of it done. He had achieved two pages by the time he gave up. Paperwork and Glorfindel were like oil and water-they just didn't mix. The first time he tried to be organised, his mind had wandered, and he'd spent half an hour naming his stationary (his quill had been affectionately dubbed Erestor). Erestor was not happy because the paperwork was reaching the urgent stage, and the paperwork was not happy because it was teetering perilously close to the wastepaper basket.

"Ahh," Glorfindel sighed, stretching his arms out in front of him, "the weather is beautiful." He was happy, because he was finally far enough away from the paperwork and Erestor to be safe.

The river was brilliant, sparkling clean water rushed over smooth stones, and you could see the fish. An abundance of wildlife had gathered by the riverbank, and Elladan and Elrohir wasted no time in getting to know what seemed to their parents like the entire insect population. "Look ada!" Elrohir held out his hands, "I'm going to call it Glorfindel!"

The warrior peered over at this statement to find out what noble creature had made Elrohir think of him. In Elrohir's hands was a small, delicate dung beetle. Glorfindel groaned and buried his head in his hands.

While the twins met the local wildlife and Glorfindel attempted to persuade Elrohir that he should name the dung beetle after someone else, Elrond and Celebrían lay down under a tree, basking in the dappled sunlight.

"Finally," Celebrían sighed, "A chance to relax with my husband in peace and quiet," Elrond leant over and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm sorry we haven't been able to spend much time together recently," he apologised, "but I was snowed under with paperwork," Celebrían didn't look appeased so he planted another kiss on her lips.

Celebrían smiled. "All is forgiven," she said, running long fingers through his hair, "Perhaps we should talk about the issue of spending time together tonight."

"Lunch!" Elrond announced a little later, and the twins plus Glorfindel arrived complete with a menagerie of insects. Glorfindel had failed to persuade Elrohir to give the dung beetle a new name, but he had managed to ensure that a caterpillar was called Erestor.

Lunch was eaten with relish, and was eaten far too fast by Elladan and Elrohir. Once lunch was finished, it was time to think about leaving. Of course, both of the twins were reluctant to leave, come to think about it, so was Glorfindel. Still, the feast was tomorrow, and they all needed to finish their own preparations.

Elladan was the first to accept the fact that they needed to leave, and he headed off along the riverbank towards Imladris. "Careful Elladan," Elrond called, "The bank will be slippery,"

No sooner than the words had left Elrond's lips, Elladan's foot skidded on the wet grass and he fell over. In less than a second, the elfling had slipped off the path and fallen towards the river.

"Elladan!" Elrond cried, and rushed forward just in time to see Elladan tip forward, banging his head on a rock as he splashed into the icy water. A trickle of blood curled up through the water and Elladan's motionless body sank towards the riverbed.

Author's notes: Aha, a cliffhanger. If you would like to find out what happens, then please review. Constructive criticism gladly accepted. I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't very well written, please forgive me. The next chapter doesn't have a title yet, so any ideas for that would be welcome, and any ideas for future chapters are also welcome. Thank you, please review.


	4. Fear by the River

Chapter 4-Fear by the river

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places featured in this story.

Author's notes: For anyone that wanted it, here is the next chapter. I'm not being deliberately nasty to the twins, in many ways it's probably worse for their parents. I'm really sorry about this chapter. It's a bit shorter than the other ones as well.

Responses to reviews:

Yay! People reviewed my story! (Grins happily)

LloydIrvingisMine: Thanks for the review, and thanks for telling me what ROFLOL means. As per your request, here is the update.

Slina: Thank you!

Jamesofme: Thanks, and I'll try not to leave it on a cliffhanger again, but I couldn't help it that time.

A.Nuevil: Thanks! The paperwork may gain more significance later on…(I'm silly too)

Haldir's heart and soul: OK, I wasn't nice; I'm not really being very nice in this chapter either, sorry…

Glorfindel watched in horror as Elladan sank under the water, and barely paused before jumping in after him. He grabbed the unconscious elfling and hauled him out onto the bank, where he lay ominously still.

"Is he OK?" Elrohir whispered, clutching at Celebrían's skirt in fear. Celebrían didn't answer, she didn't know. Elladan looked so pale he seemed almost…She didn't want to think.

"He isn't breathing," Elrond muttered, trying desperately not to lose his calm, because he knew it wouldn't help his son. Every moment he spent panicking only put the elfling's life in further danger. Elladan's lips were beginning to look slightly blue, and his face was almost as pale as white marble. Elrond tilted Elladan's head back and pinched his nose firmly before breathing into his mouth. Elladan's chest rose and then fell again, but he still wasn't breathing.

"What's happening?" Elrohir was watching his brother in horror, barely even breathing himself. "Is he…is he going to be OK?"

"He's going to be fine," Celebrían replied, as much to reassure herself as her son. Seeing Elladan like this, so helpless, his life resting in the balance, tore painfully at her heart. She couldn't lose her son like this, so soon. He couldn't leave, not now; he was too young.

Again and again Elrond continued to breathe into Elladan's mouth, his fear and worry increasing with every passing second when it seemed to be having no effect. "Please Elladan," he thought desperately, "Please…"

Glorfindel was knelt next to Elrond, and had taken up the task of monitoring Elladan's vital signs. In one moment, what was already a terrible situation took a turn for the worse. "Elrond," he said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice, "I can't find his pulse anymore, his heart has stopped."

"Help me," Elrond said, and Glorfindel placed his hands over Elladan's chest. He pushed down on the elfling's chest firmly, and then repeated this action fourteen more times. Then Elrond went back to breathing into his son's mouth.

"Nana…" Elrohir was crying "Nana he's leaving…" he clutched at her dress in desperation. He could feel in his heart that his brother was moving further and further away from him and he didn't know what to do. Celebrían wrapped her arms around him, tears trickling down her cheeks as well. They could only pray that Elladan would be saved.

"It isn't working," Glorfindel muttered, and Elrond glared at him.

"It has to," he replied, "It has to work." He leant forward again, and exhaled into Elladan's mouth, even though it was becoming less and less likely that Elladan would survive. He could barely believe it therefore, when Elladan gasped and started coughing up water.

"Elladan," Elrond whispered, and once the elfling had finished coughing he blearily opened his eyes to look at his father.

"Ada?" He croaked weakly, bringing tears to Elrond's eyes.

"Yes, I'm here," he assured, brushing the wet hair out of Elladan's eyes.

"He's OK!" Elrohir said happily, "He's come back,"

Celebrían smiled shakily and hugged him, keeping her eyes fixed on where Elladan lay.

"We should head back," Glorfindel stated, shivering slightly, and pulling his cloak around himself to keep warm.

"Agreed." Elrond replied, while wrapping his own cloak around Elladan and lifting his son into his arms. He didn't want to say in front of Celebrían and his sons, but he was quite worried about Elladan's head injury, which could still prove to be serious. However happy he was that Elladan was still alive, he knew the young elf wasn't out of the woods yet.

The walk back to Imladris didn't take long, and Elrond, as well as carrying Elladan, kept talking to him to make sure he didn't fall asleep.

Celebrían and Elrohir walked in silence, watching Elladan. Elrohir gripped Celebrían's hand tightly, trying not to think about those terrible moments when it seemed that his brother was leaving him.

The elves inside the house fell silent when they saw Lord Elrond walk in, his son cradled in his arms. Both Glorfindel and Elladan were dripping wet, and Glorfindel at least was appreciative of the warmth the house offered.

Glorfindel headed to his rooms to get changed and warm up before he became an icicle. Elrond headed to the healing wards with Elladan, and Celebrían and Elrohir followed.

A couple of hours later, Elladan was sleeping peacefully, with a bandage wrapped around his head. Thankfully, his head injury had been relatively minor, and all he would need was plenty of rest so he could recover quickly.

Still, it was all too clear to Elrond how close he had been to losing Elladan. He sat in a chair near the bed, next to Celebrían, crying.

"He's fine now," Celebrían reached over and took his hand. "You and Glorfindel saved his life,"

Elrond shook his head, "it could easily have been very different," he said quietly. "His soul was leaving his body. I could feel it."

"You cannot dwell on that so much," Celebrían replied, "he is safe now, and that is all that matters. If you dwell on what could have happened, it will tear you apart."

"I know," Elrond turned to her, "But still, I cannot forget how close we were to losing our son."

"I feel the same way," Celebrían murmured, wrapping her arms around him.

Elrohir, meanwhile, was in his room, trying to make sense out of what had happened. His brother had been there, then suddenly, he was moving away, and there was a blank space where he should have been. Elrohir remembered feeling hollow, as if his life was empty. It was terrible.

Then something happened and he could feel his brother again, safely back where he belonged, right in Elrohir's heart.

The preparations for the feast continued, though they were all much more subdued. Everyone in Imladris knew Elladan, and however annoying he and his brother were; they were dearly loved by most if not all.

Glorfindel was sitting in the hall of fire, thinking. Erestor knew he was there, but decided wisely not to bother him.

The day ended on a sombre note. Only the paperwork was unaffected by what had happened.

Author's notes: Do you know, the reason I was writing this fanfic in the first place was because I had an idea for one chapter about Elladan, Elrohir and Legolas, and I went off at a tangent. Ah well, that's usual for me. I still haven't written that chapter, but it may appear later in this story. So, what do you think? Is it OK? Should I continue or not? Please review and tell me. I apologise for inaccurate medical details. The next chapter (if I post it) will probably be happier. Constructive criticism gratefully accepted.


	5. Celebrations

Chapter 5- Celebrations

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places featured in this story.

Author's notes: As promised, this chapter is a lot happier. I am getting the feeling that the title of this story is no longer entirely appropriate. Also, I have always known that the summary could use some work. So, if anyone knows how I can actually make these any better, then I would appreciate it if you could tell me. Thanks.

Responses to reviews:

A.Nuevil-Thanks for reviewing. The paperwork issue will be resolved soon, because before I wrote this story, I reckoned that Glorfindel's paperwork issue should be a major plotline. There will probably be more chapters to come, including, hopefully, some chapters with Legolas in. Though those may be quite a way off because I have a few ideas for chapters with just the twins in.

Haldir's heart and soul: I agree, you can't protect them forever, but that won't mean you stop trying to. Soon though they'll have to protect themselves. Ah, yeah, scary for Elrond and Celebrían, I hadn't really meant for it to go so badly wrong for Elladan, it just…happened.

* * *

"Ada?" Elladan was just waking up, and he was a little confused. He wasn't exactly sure where he was, and his head felt fuzzy. He looked around and spotted his father, asleep in a chair near the bed.

Elrond heard the noise and stirred. "Elladan," he smiled when he noticed the young elfling was watching him. "You're awake!" He leant over and hugged his son. "You had me so worried. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright I suppose," Elladan replied, "But my head feels a bit funny, and…" He frowned, trying to remember and failing. "What happened ada?"

"You slipped and fell in the river," Elrond shivered, the memory still chilled him to the bone.

"I didn't miss the feast did I?" Elladan asked. He hoped not, the feast was one of his favourite times of the year, and to miss it would be really unfair.

"No," Elrond shook his head. "You can still go, if you're feeling up to it."

"Of course I am!" Elladan deliberately ignored the fuzzyheaded feeling and nodded enthusiastically.

Elsewhere in the house, Elrohir and Celebrían were heading to the healing wards to see if Elladan was awake. The decorations for the feast were beautiful, but neither of the two elves took much notice, as they were more concerned about whether Elladan was OK.

It was the first time that Elrohir hadn't been excited about the feast, because he knew that it wouldn't be the same if his brother wasn't awake to share it with him. The feast itself didn't matter; all that mattered was if his twin was all right.

By the time Celebrían and Elrohir reached the healing ward, Elladan was sitting up, fully alert. "Elladan!" Elrohir exclaimed happily, and within seconds Elladan had been enveloped in a massive hug from his mother and his twin.

Elladan was beginning to suspect that he might not have just fallen in the river. This kind of reaction wasn't something he'd expect if all that had happened was that he got a little wet. Resolving to ask his brother later, for the meantime he just enjoyed the attention.

Some time later, Elladan was up and about, and both twins were roaming the house, admiring the decorations.

Celebrían and Elrond had remembered the twins' presents, and went to see Glorfindel to get them.

Unfortunately, Glorfindel couldn't remember where he'd put them. "I'm sorry," he said, "but with everything that happened yesterday it completely went out of my mind."

"Are you sure?" Elrond questioned, "Can you think where you might have put them?"

Glorfindel shook his head. "All I know," he replied, "is that I put them somewhere no one would think to look."

"That helps," Celebrían sighed. "I suppose we had better start searching."

The three elves split up and wandered the house, looking in unsuspected places and asking whether anyone had seen the presents. The feast was in three hours, so they didn't have much time left.

Glorfindel went first to his room, and when he found nothing, he headed to his study. "Oh my…" he breathed when he entered. Lying all over the floor and trailing out of the wastepaper basket were sheets and sheets of unfinished paperwork.

Sighing reluctantly, he knelt and began to pick them up, praying that Erestor would not find him doing this. After an hour (there was a lot of paperwork) he had managed to tidy up all the sheets, and nursing several paper cuts, he put them back on the desk. Then he saw something resting against his desk. Normally, the room would never be tidy enough for anyone to see it, but now it was in full view. The twins' presents!

Grinning from ear to ear, he set off to find Elrond and Celebrían.

Elrond was attempting to search the armoury. Unfortunately, the armoury wasn't brilliantly organised (It had been Glorfindel's job) and all he had managed to get so far was lost. "Hello?" He called, after having walked down corridors made up of large shields, swords and cases of other weaponry, only to keep coming across dead ends. He was well and truly stuck, so he decided to see if turning left worked, after all, it worked for mazes.

Apparently, it did not work for mess. He kept finding dead ends, and when he got back to where he started, he sat down with a cry of frustration.

Celebrían wasn't having much luck either. Everywhere she went, elves wanted to stop and talk to her. In an hour, she had managed to get down half the corridor. Now, someone was dragging her to the kitchens to try the food. Of course, she was too polite to refuse, so her search was cut short for a while.

"Have you seen Lord Elrond?" Glorfindel asked, stopping a passer by. They shook their head and Glorfindel continued. Eventually, he was passing the armoury, and heard several clunks, a thud and a yell of pain.

"Hello?" He called, and walked into the room. Being the one who had organised the room, he knew his way around perfectly, although he knew others had more difficulty. So he found the source of the cry very quickly. It did surprise him to see who it was, though. "Lord Elrond!" He exclaimed, looking down at the elf lord, who was trapped underneath a large box full of helmets, "I've been looking for you everywhere-I found the twins' presents!"

"You did?" Elrond struggled out from underneath the box and stood up. "You really should tidy this room." He said. "I got lost in here! The box fell on me because I had given up trying to find my way out, and was trying to work my way through the walls of mess!"

"Ah," Glorfindel looked at the floor. "I'm sorry my lord, are you hurt?"

"No, thankfully," Elrond glared, "You're just lucky you brought good news or…" He left the sentence unfinished, and Glorfindel gulped.

Once Glorfindel had led Elrond out of the room, (He seemed to have the route memorised) they went to find Celebrían. They picked up the presents on the way, found Celebrían and went to give the twins their gifts.

All the hassle that had been caused by the presents was made up for by the twins' reaction when their parents handed over the presents. They were two beautifully made bows, complete with quivers and arrows, because although Elladan and Elrohir were quite good at archery, they didn't have bows of their own.

"They're brilliant," The twins said happily, and threw their arms round their parents, "Thank you!" Then it was time for them to hand over their own presents.

The twins' presents were hand made cards, a paperweight for Elrond, and a glass ornament for Celebrían. You could tell they had worked hard on the cards, and it meant a lot to the lord and lady of Imladris. "Thank you," They said, and went to put the presents in their room before they all headed to the feast.

Along the way, many elves who hadn't seen Elladan and his brother walking around yet kept coming up to them and saying how glad they were that he was OK. By the time they got there, Elladan was well and truly embarrassed and wanted nothing more than to sink into a chair and not be seen for the rest of the evening.

The feast was a great success, the food was delicious, and the mood was brilliant. By the end of the evening, Elladan had finally got rid of the urge to run away and hide in embarrassment, and all of the copious amounts of food had completely disappeared.

So, the feast was over, at least for another year. Back in Glorfindel's study, the paperwork smiled happily (or it would have if it had a mouth) because it knew it was safe again, for the time being…

* * *

Author's notes: Ah, sorry about this story, I really do apologise. Forgive me and review please, because constructive criticism is always welcome. There may or may not be another chapter, depending on what you think. The story should be more organised. My problem is that I couldn't really skip forward again to when Elladan was better, so this chapter was kind of necessary. Once again, sorry, and please review. 


	6. Glorfindel's imaginary friend

**Disclaimer: **I don't own LOTR

**Author's notes: **Well, here's chapter six, and much earlier than I'd thought. Excuse the bad writing, I just did two maths AS level exams today. I hope you like this chapter, and please please **please** review! Thanks : )

**Responses to reviews:**

**Haldir's heart and soul**: Thanks, here's chapter six.

**A.NuEvil**: Thanks for the review. Of course Elladan is OK, I couldn't kill him off, he's too good to be killed off.

**Carawen**: Thanks for the review, it made my day.

**Katquest 2000**: Sure, I'll add another chapter, here it is.

* * *

_Scratch, scratch, scratch…_

Erestor paused to listen to the strange noise. If he didn't know better, he'd almost have thought it was a rat. But there weren't any rats in Imladris, were there? The dark haired advisor shuddered involuntarily and carried on down the corridor.

_Scratch, scratch…_

He quickened his pace slightly, heading for his refuge-the library. No rats there, at least, none that he knew of. Another shudder travelled down his spine and he shook his head to dispel the feeling.

* * *

Glorfindel sat alone in his study, his quill scratching frantically over the paper, as he desperately tried to finish half a years worth of work in less than a week. Disorganised was not the word for it. Foolish, useless and hopeless sprang quickly to the blond elf's mind, but none of these were quite adequate for the situation. He decided that someone should probably invent a new word for it. 

When the pile of finished paperwork was tall enough for him to rest his arm on comfortably, he stretched. Muscles rejoiced at being moved after staying in one position for too long, and Glorfindel smiled. He somewhat resembled a cat, the grace of the elves adding to the similarities.

"Maybe I'll take a short break…" he mused, thinking out loud to relieve the silence that had been pressing on him all morning. At this point, the pile of _un_finished work toppled, ad fell over onto the desk, and onto Glorfindel. "Fine!" he growled. "I won't take a break yet."

* * *

"Is that Glorfindel?" Elrohir whispered to Elladan, as they passed the door and heard his voice. "It sounds like he's talking to himself." 

"Mmm," Elladan agreed, "or perhaps he's talking to someone else."

Elrohir's nose wrinkled as he thought about this, then he shook his head. "I don't know, there isn't much room in his study…"

"Especially not with all the mess!" Elladan interjected, and they both giggled quietly.

"Well there's not much room, so I don't think he could fit someone else in there,"

"Unless they were really small," the elder twin pointed out helpfully. "Or if they were sat on the desk."

Elrohir thought for a moment then looked up. "Perhaps Glorfindel has an imaginary friend!" He exclaimed, as quietly as possible.

Having come to this conclusion, the twins carried on down the corridor towards their room. From outside Glorfindel's room you could hear snatches of their conversation as they wandered off.

"Do you think it has a name?"

"I wonder if it's a he or a she…"

"Are adults even _allowed_ to have imaginary friends?"

"What will Ada do if he finds out?"

* * *

"Darling?" Celebrían asked pleasantly, 

"Yes dear?" Elrond answered, lifting his drooping head slightly.

"What do you think?" She asked, and Elrond didn't even need to look to know that she was holding up yet another article of clothing for his inspection. It was their anniversary dinner that evening, but he didn't see why she had to go through so many clothes looking for what she would wear. To him, she looked stunning in anything.

"You would look absolutely beautiful in it dear." This phrase, and its variations, were all he said for a good ten minutes before Celebrían finally gave up.

"Darling?"

"It looks lovely dear,"

Darling, the house is on fire,"

"Yes dear…what?" Elrond looked around like a startled deer.

Celebrían was stood with her hands on her hips, waving a robe in front of his face. "Do you know what this is?" She questioned.

"It's one of my…" Elrond started slowly, but she cut him off and held up her hand.

"It's one of your robes, yes. Do you realise that in the past ten minutes you have told me I'd look lovely in three of your robes, the curtains," She counted each item off on her fingers as she spoke. "A rug, the blankets from the bed, and a small box of dirt my mother sent as an anniversary present!"

Elrond gaped, his mouth hanging open, making him look rather undignified.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" She demanded.

"You _would_ look lovely in them?" He hazarded.

Celebrían growled.

* * *

Glorfindel sighed happily, it had taken him a long time, but he'd finally finished all the work left over from winter. He scooped the pile of paper into his arms and left to find Erestor. There was so much paperwork he could rest his chin on it. 

"A third of it done," he grinned, not caring if people heard him talking to himself. "I suppose Erestor will be in the library, he usually is. Once I've handed all this over I can finally take a break."

Unknown to the golden haired warrior, he wasn't alone in the corridor. Peering around a corner were Elladan and Elrohir, who were listening with interest to his one-sided conversation.

* * *

The twins looked at each other. So Glorfindel _did_ have an imaginary friend! By this time, both Elladan and Elrohir had decided that grown-ups couldn't have imaginary friends, so they worried what everyone else might think. 

"I don't think Ada will like this," Elrohir frowned, "Or Erestor."

"Especially not Erestor," His brother agreed. "What do you suppose they'll do? I hope they don't send Glorfindel away."

"I don't think they'll do that," the younger twin replied, "but they might try to send his imaginary friend away."

Both elflings considered this. They'd never had imaginary friends of their own, but they didn't think it would be fair to send someone else's away-no matter how old they were.

"We have to do something." Elladan decided, and Elrohir nodded.

"We can find Glorfindel and tell him to keep his friend more secret-so no-one else will find out!"

So, now that their plan was decided, the twins returned to their room to wait for a better time.

* * *

Erestor relaxed in a chair, reading. He was now fairly certain that the noises he'd heard were not made by a rat, and was therefore much calmer. Nothing could interrupt the peaceful silence. Nothing that is, except… 

"Glorfindel?" Erestor looked up to see the elf stagger in, carrying a huge tower of paperwork.

"I finished the work from winter," He explained, but talking dislodged the top sheet. It lifted with the air current created by his breath, and almost drifted off onto the floor. He silently willed it to remain where it was, which seemed to work, because the sheet settled back onto the pile.

Unfortunately for Glorfindel, events decided to conspire against him. As he stepped forward, he stubbed his toe on something he couldn't see over the paperwork. This caused him to lose his balance, and the tower of paper began to sway. It wasn't long before he lost control of it completely, and the work fell to the floor, scattering everywhere.

"Oops." He said.

"Glorfindel!"

* * *

**Author's notes:** Well, that was chapter six. I hope it wasn't too bad, and there will be a chapter seven, even though I had originally planned to have this as the last chapter. Please review! Please! Your comments would be greatly appreciated-really, so tell me what you think, and how I can improve. 


End file.
